The Yasser Arafat Foundation expressed surprise at recent remarks by Mr. Bashar Masri regarding his purchase of the late President Yasser Arafat’s aircraft, as well as his use of the plane and its storage at Lod Airport.

 The Foundation stressed that the aircraft in question is not the same plane used by the late President Yasser Arafat that first landed at Gaza International Airport. 

The Foundation called for the late founding president’s name not to be drawn into contexts unrelated to his national legacy. It noted that any association between the late president’s aircraft and Lod Airport runs counter to the symbolism of the plane and the legacy of its owner, as well as the national cause and collective struggle that President Yasser Arafat represented for the Palestinian people.

 The Foundation reaffirmed its commitment to preserving the legacy of the founding president and to ensuring that his name and symbolic significance are not invoked in ways that could be seen as contradicting his history and national positions. On the 22nd anniversary of the martyrdom of President and national leader Yasser Arafat, the Foundation paid tribute to his memory and renewed its commitment to preserving his national and historical legacy.